Makers Monday- Making Change Happen

Apologies to anyone who mistakenly thought that Makers Monday was only about embroidery. Sorry to let you down again, but you won’t be getting your fix today either. I am in the middle of projects and still feeling very unmotivated when it comes to picking up my needle and thread. I’ve stopped beating myself up about it. Like a terrible book, you can force yourself to finish it but you will find little satisfaction in doing so. I don’t want art to be that way for me. So, I’m considering it a season in my life that is currently dormant; recharging and rejuvenating before springing into bloom. Today I want to share with you something else I have been working on in my spare time. For a generally lazy person, I sure like to keep busy. *wink*

We’ve talked in the past about finding your purpose and my general struggles with it. I have vowed time and again to focus strictly on my family, but I can’t shake this intense feeling like I should be doing something to right the wrongs in the world. While trying hard to focus on being a good mother and raising strong, openminded children as my purpose, I realized that a good part of that means leading by example. When issues come up, it is so hard for me to fight back the urge to DO something. And not just something, but something BIG. I want to sail across oceans and bring food and water to the Rohingya refugees. I want to open my home to Syrian refugees and give them a place to sleep or aid in Nepal. I want to adopt all of the orphans in Romania or at least relocate and work in one. But as a good mother, I can’t do these things. I can’t up and move to a war torn country so I look closer to home. I’ve been dialoging with people about the incidents that take place in our community because it still weighs heavily on me. I know that I’ve reached a couple people through casual conversation and made them start to rethink their stances on things. It’s not much, but it’s a start. However, most of the people I talk to are already on “my side” so I feel again as though I’m not doing enough. This yearning to do more waxes and wanes, but when it eats at me it’s easy to feel that it’s teeth have grown longer and sharper.

Sounds morbid, I know, but I had a good laugh about it the other day when I was going through my Myer-Briggs Type Indicator the other day. For those of you not familiar with the MBTI it’s a tool to help you determine what your core personality traits are and how they come together to make your overall personality type, where you’re strengths and weaknesses are, and how this affects your relationships, your career, and even how you view the world. You can read more HERE or HERE and take the test for free.

*Disclaimer- the Myer-Briggs official website does not consider these the official MBTI and believes it should be administered by a certified professional. You can take the real one, it's $50 and results are scored and given via an hour long phone conversation. I've taken a couple of those offered free online including the two I linked to and received the same answer each time. Do with that what you will.

Turns out I’m an INFJ – the rarest of all the types. I always knew I was special *wink*. The whole assessment connected with me, as it should I suppose, but what stood out was :

Few personality types are as sensitive and mysterious as INFJs. Your imagination and empathy make you someone who not only cherishes their integrity and deeply held principles but, unlike many other idealistic types, is also capable of turning those ideals into plans, and executing them.

Yet, as an INFJ, you are likely to be easily tripped up in areas where idealism and determination are more of a liability than an asset. Whether it is navigating interpersonal conflicts, confronting unpleasant facts, pursuing self-realization, or finding a career path that aligns well with your intricate inner core, you may face numerous challenges that at times can even make you question who you really are.

Hit the nail on the head. Then I read this:

When INFJs come to believe that something is important, they pursue that goal with a conviction and energy that can catch even their friends and loved ones off guard. INFJs will rock the boat if they have to, something not everyone likes to see, but their passion for their chosen cause is an inseparable part of their personality.

So it turns out that so much of this is in the very core of who I am. No wonder I could never just “show up & do my job” at work. I can’t help but rock the boat. Reading this made me realize I have two choices: I can either struggle against who I am or I can learn to work with it. So here’s where we talk about making change happen- hence the title of this longwinded blog you’re reading.

June 1st is the official launch date of #unitecloud, a grassroots, social media movement that provides education and actionable steps to resolve tensions and restore dignity for all the people in the St Cloud area. #unitecloud is a collaboration with my good friend Natalie we are undertaking in an effort to promote tolerance here in our community. We have been kicking it around for awhile and working secretively on it. We know that we are all capable of co-existing once we start to recognize the humanness that connects us all. Sounds grandiose to some, I’m sure. I know there will be doubters and haters. I’m prepared. I truly think it can happen; The best part is I think it can happen through small, easy, actionable steps en masse. En Masse is the key.

#unitecloud will be posting on Facebook 3 times each week with steps you can take, articles that get to the core of our fears and look at things from different perspectives, and much more. It is not our goal to change the minds of those in our community to all agree on everything, throw away their core values, and think the same way. Not gonna happen. It is our goal to teach people to live in harmony despite them. Respect and good manners are never out of fashion, people.

If you live in the area, I hope you will come check us out. I will share links once we are up and live, but you can also watch for them on my Facebook accounts. If you don’t live in the area, well, feel free to follow along anyway. Who knows, you might accidentally learn something or be inspired to make change happen in your area.